Stuttgart hides a weak half-time and keeps the relegation battle exciting
VfB Stuttgart sends another sign of life in the fight to stay in the Bundesliga. At FC Augsburg, VfB only managed a draw with a curious equalizer. But Augsburg failed to break away decisively from the relegation region.
Dhe VfB Stuttgart again won a point in the relegation battle with great morale under new coach Sebastian Hoeneß. The outstanding captain Wataru Endo ensured the 1:1 (0:1) deserved thanks to a strong second half on Friday evening in the Bundesliga at the Augsburg floodlight specialists with his poking goal in the 78th minute.
Completely exhausted, the 22 players stayed on the pitch after the final whistle. They didn’t really know whether they should be happy about a point or annoyed about two points too little. “Once again we took a 1-0 lead and didn’t take the three points with us,” said Augsburg’s Arne Maier on the DAZN streaming service: “Annoying, bitter, for us, for the fans. But we’ll take the point with us.”
After a dream start with a wonderful diving header from Dion Beljo (8th), FCA were again unable to take a lead in the key game in the relegation battle. However, the Bavarian Swabians are five points ahead of VfB, who are on the relegation place, with 30 points. A week after the spectacular 3-3 win over Borussia Dortmund, Hoeneß and his team averted their first defeat in their fourth competitive game. “We took the morale from the last games with us,” said VfB professional Josha Vagnoman. The passion and belief are 100 percent there.
“We can take a big step,” Augsburg coach Enrico Maassen said beforehand – and it looked like that for a long time. Evening games are FCA time, Maassen’s team had previously celebrated three 1-0 wins against Gladbach, Leverkusen and Hoffenheim under floodlights in 2023. But the resistance in Stuttgart was rewarded.
VfB Stuttgart initially lacked the punch
In front of 30,660 spectators in the sold-out WWK Arena, Maassen’s team started more greedily, biting in the duels and determined in the game forward. In central midfield, the hosts dominated with the strong Arne Engels and Elvis Rexhbecaj. They also made up for the loss of first-choice keeper Rafal Gikiewicz, captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw in the center of defense and international Mergim Berisha up front.
And VfB? After the spectacular game with a man down against Dortmund, the punch was missing in the first half. The offensive game was too sluggish. There was a lack of presence in the penalty area. And when we conceded, the defense was not compact. However, FCA did well too. Engels freed Arne Maier, whose class cross was headed in by the free-standing Beljo. FCA goalkeeper Tomas Koubek quickly deflected a shot from Chris Führich over the crossbar with his hand when Stuttgart had the best opportunity.
Hoeneß reacted at half-time. He came on for Silas and Tanguy Coulibaly, which gave Stuttgart’s offensive game more pace and assertiveness. However, the Augsburg defense around captain Felix Uduokhai initially did not allow anything in the penalty area. Maximilian Bauer in particular was attached like a burr to Stuttgart’s agile center forward Serhou Guirassy, who struggled at the top but didn’t get the crowning finish.
Both fan camps saw an intense fighting game, which also had its playful moments. FCA lurked for an attacking move to make it 2-0. But then Stuttgart was successful. Endo poked the ball over the line after a long pass.
